Archive for April 2, 2009
HYPOGLYCEMIA AND CAR ACCIDENTS
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:47 amNow that diabetics are being taught to keep their blood sugar levels under tighter control with more frequent injections of regular insulin, the American Family Physician (30#4:189) reports, more car accidents are occurring as a result of hypoglycemia, an excessively low blood sugar level.
The nonwarning type of hypoglycemia is the most dangerous since it occurs suddenly and without the usual premonitory symptoms, such as hunger, faintness, sweating, tremor, etc. Without warning, the diabetic person begins behaving in a robot-like, purposeless manner and may convulse and lose consciousness. Many people who have had such reactions while driving have made U-turns and crashed head-on at high speed into the oncoming traffic. Medications (such as aspirin, sulfa-drugs, phenylbutazone, and beta-blockers) and alcohol make such reactions much more likely to occur.
To minimize the possibility of hypoglycemia while driving, diabetics can check their own blood sugar levels at home with a Glucometer, which is reported to be more accurate than Chemstrips. If the glucose level is below 200 mg, the situation can be quickly dealt with by taking a sugary drink and some food. On long trips, it is recommended that diabetics test the blood sugar every two hours, even if they are feeling well.
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(posted in General health)
EFFECTIVE SUNGLASSES: WHAT YOU MUST ASK FOR
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:41 amWhen buying sunglasses, look for those that filter ultraviolet (UV) light, the tumor-producing component of sunshine, and thereby block its entry to the eyes. This helps to prevent cancer of the iris, the colored tissue that surrounds the pupils. UV light is now also thought to be a causative factor in some eye diseases formerly attributed to “aging.”
Thus, the We stern Journal of Medicine (144:454) reports, the cumulative effect of UV on the retina over a period of several decades seems to be a major factor in the development of macular degeneration, one of the most common causes of failing vision, even blindness, in the elderly.
While passing through an eye, however, much of the UV in a sunlight beam gets filtered out by the lens, which, in this way, serves as a shield for the retina. Not surprisingly, therefore, the lens bears some of the brunt of repeated and prolonged exposure to UV, becoming discolored and opaque as the result. Known as cataract, this lens condition produces progressive visual clouding until all that can be sensed is the difference between darkness and light.
Fortunately, these bad effects of UV light upon the retina and lens can be prevented with sunglasses that filter UV from sunlight, thereby stopping it from even entering the eye. However, many sunglasses don’t filter out enough UV light to protect us properly, even when their manufacturer states that they are “UV absorbing.” By itself, that claim can be misleading since any glass or plastic blocks at least some UV.
To properly protect the eyes, we need sunglasses that block out light of all wavelengths below 400 nm (nanometers). As a rule of thumb, lenses that can do this should be dark enough not to let you see your own pupils when looking in a mirror. Glasses that merely block out UV wavelengths below 350 are not good enough. Actually, there is now an instrument that enables professionals to determine if sunglasses can absorb UV sufficiently. This is why you ought to go to an eye professional when purchasing a new pair.
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(posted in General health)
COFFEE AND CHOLESTEROL
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:36 amReports about coffee and its effects upon the level of cholesterol in the blood have been alarmingly contradictory, j Some researchers find that coffee, even in moderate amounts, raises cholesterol blood levels and thereby increases the risk of both heart attack and stroke. Others are unable to see any of these effects. Now, according to the Lancet (2:1283), there may be an explanation for these conflicting results.
The conflict began with a study by researchers in Norway in which they found that coffee drinking raised the blood levels of both cholesterol and fat. Furthermore, they discovered, the effect grew stronger the more cups of coffee the subjects’ consumed. In light of that, the New England Journal of Medicine (308:1454) said that heavy coffee drinkers probably at least incur double the risk of coronary artery disease. However, researchers in this country were unable to confirm these conclusions.
A new report says that the difference may lie in the variations in the methods by which the coffee was prepared for drinking. If coffee is made by boiling (as it was in the Norwegian study), there is a cholesterol-raising effect. In contrast, when our coffee is prepared by filtration (as it usually is nowadays in the U.S.A.), no bad effect on the blood cholesterol or the cardiovascular system is to be seen. Possibly, however, when we percolate coffee, although this is not proven, we may be producing at least some of the same undesirable effects as we would do if we boiled it.
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(posted in General health)
BLOOD PRESSURE—TREATMENT: SIDE EFFECTS OF DIURETICS
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:31 amFor more than 30 years, the Thiazide type of diuretics (water pills) have been the most widely used drugs for high blood pressure, but their safety is now in question. According to Geriatrics (39#1:40), there is a side effect of diuretics that can happen so gradually that it can quite easily be overlooked. By excessively reducing the body’s salt and water content, these medicines may also be reducing the blood volume so much that the blood pressure sinks dangerously low. Persons with extreme salt and water loss are likely to experience weakness, giddiness, and confusion, and may even faint and fall down, injuring themselves, when they suddenly try to stand. This effect, however, can be reversed by reducing the dose or giving some extra salt.
More recently, it has been discovered that some people taking a thiazide develop heartbeat irregularities, some of which are serious or even fatal. This risk, too, according to Drug Therapy (18#8:49), can be eliminated if the doctor gives some extra potassium and magnesium by mouth to prevent drug-induced depletion of these minerals from the body.
Most recently, thiazides have been found to increase cholesterol levels. Even worse, perhaps, is their effect on the “bad” LDL type of cholesterol, which increases by an average of 10 percent. Since no way of reversing this undesirable effect has been discovered, many doctors now use other diuretics instead.
Anyone whose cholesterol level is usually in the 150-180 mg range probably need not worry. But, for those with levels above normal, thiazide medication probably should be replaced.
However, a high blood pressure that rises out of control because of discontinued medication is more immediately dangerous than a high cholesterol level. One should therefore never discontinue or alter the dosage of a thiazide without the prescribing physician’s consent.
Actually, anyone who is taking a diuretic ought to monitor his blood pressure at home, taking his own readings or getting someone to do it for him. The doctor should be asked ahead of time about the lowest level that is safe, and, if the pressure falls below that, he should be told about it right away.
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(posted in General health)
ANEMIA — THE TIP OF AN ICEBERG?
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:25 amAnemia is the term applied to any condition in which the concentration of hemoglobin (the red oxygen-carrying pigment) in the blood is below normal. It is rarely a disease in itself and is nearly always caused by something else, such as bleeding, a deficiency, kidney trouble, an infection, or cancer. So important is this point that Hospital Practice recently saw fit to highlight it in an editorial.
Most anemias, fortunately, turn out to be nothing more serious than iron deficiency, a condition that can usually be corrected with medication. Some cases of iron deficiency, however, result from bleeding — the cause of which is not always easy to find. A bleeding gastric ulcer is usually obvious because of associated indigestion and abdominal pain, but bleeding from cancer of the colon can be without symptoms until the tumor is far advanced. In civilized countries, most iron-deficiency anemia is caused by heavy menstrual bleeding in women who don’t take enough iron to make up for it. In the tropics, iron deficiency more often results from intestinal worms, which steal the patient’s blood.
Other types of anemia are due to decreased production of red cells (which carry the hemoglobin in the blood) or to an increase in their rate of destruction. Every day, about 1 percent of our red blood cells wear out and are replaced by new ones from the bone marrow, and anemia results whenever this balance is disturbed. Any one of a great number of conditions, including infections (such as syphilis, tuberculosis, or malaria), thyroid trouble, kidney problems, leukemia, poisons, or dietary deficiencies can increase the destruction or decrease the production of red cells.
Anemia, therefore, is like the tip of an iceberg and must always be taken seriously as a clue to illness. Simple iron and vitamin remedies should not be used in its treatment routinely but only after the major serious causes have been ruled out. If you become anemic, your physician may need to run many tests on you. Cooperate fully, because it’s in your best interests.
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(posted in General health)